Maiko Drabbles
by RarityTheUnicorn
Summary: A collection Maiko, fluff and angst and lols. NEWEST DRABBLE POSTED: We all float on
1. 2 am

Prompt: 2 am

The thirteen-year-old prince ran across the dark, unusually empty clearing that separated his house from his_ girlfriend's_. He smiled as the word passed through his mind. Mai, Zuko's girlfriend. It had only been a few days since they had, with much Azula-initiated confusion, declared their feelings for each other.

Zuko stood in front of Mai's house feeling incredibly small and stupid looking up at the huge wall surrounding her home and realizing that he didn't know which of the dark windows was hers. He decided that he had come too far to turn back now and confidently walked up the stairs.

The idea had come to him in a moment of insight, the brilliance he knew he possessed shining through. Remembering a scene from his mother's favourite play where the dashing hero came to his forbidden love's window in the dead of night and stole her heart, he pictured Mai's response to this utterly romantic gesture and grinned at the idea of the normally stoic girl melting into his arms

He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. There was an awkward moment while Zuko stood alone, wondering if perhaps no one had heard him and he should knock again.

A tired servant half wearing pajamas and half wearing his uniform opened the door and peered at the prince under raised eyebrows. He bowed and spoke, trying to sound more awake than he actually was.

"Hello, Prince Zuko. How may I help you?"

"I'd like to speak with Mai."

Zuko stood up straight and held his arms behind his back while he waited.

A moment later, Mai appeared at the door, not trying to hide her desire to be asleep as opposed to standing in her sleep clothes and speaking to some idiot well past midnight.

"Yes?" Mai deadpanned, leaning against the doorframe and crossing her arms.

Every witty and romantic speech Zuko had prepared flew from his head and he found himself stuttering blankly at his irritated girlfriend. He noticed that her hairbuns were tied up with ribbons, as they had been when they were little. He cleared his throat.

"Hi, Mai. I like your hair."

He cringed internally, watching as Mai rolled her already half closed eyes. Normally, she would have been happy to see Zuko, flattered even, but her fatigue pushed any self-consciousness she had to the back of her cares. She could worry about what Zuko thought about her nighttime appearance in the morning.

"Go to bed, Zuko."

Mai closed the door. Zuko turned and began to walk slowly down the stairs, kicking a pebble in annoyance. In his opinion, it was a _fantastic _idea.


	2. Metaphor

Me: My prompt is metaphor. What's my maiko metaphor?

Hope: Earthworms. Make them earthworms.

Prompt: Earthworms. My prompt is earthworms.

"Disgusting," Mai glowered as Ty Lee bent down to prod the slimy, pink worms with her tiny, pink finger. Fire Nation winters always meant lots of rain; the trees and grass constantly greener than any other time of year, the sky always a shade of grey, and, to Mai's discontent, the ground always covered with earthworms.

"I think this one's the leader!" Ty Lee pointed to the longest worm.

"Don't be stupid, Ty Lee," the nine-year-old princess crossed her arms. "They're only worms. They don't _have_ leaders."

Azula picked up one worm and tied it in a knot, then dropped it and watched it wriggle.

Ty Lee ignored Mai's warning -"Your mom will kill you if you get worm guts on your leggings." -and knelt to the ground with a concerned look on her face.

"What's wrong with this one? It's not moving at all."

"It's probably dead. Azula, can we go inside now?"

"Now, Mai, be patient. Zu-zu won't be done with his tutors for another fifteen minutes."

"It's not that," -a blush spread across Mai's cheeks- "I'm cold and you two won't stop playing with bugs. Plus, I'm hungry."

"Oh, Agni, you're annoying sometimes," Azula narrowed her bronze eyes at the particularly squirmy worm she had pinched in front of her face. "Come on, Ty Lee. She won't stop complaining until she gets to see Zu-zu."

"But, Azula," -Ty Lee poked the unmoving worm- "I want to make sure it's okay!"

"It doesn't matter, Ty Lee," Azula smiled and dropped the worm, then stomped. "They're all dead now."


	3. Sky

Prompt: Sky

Ty Lee and I had been important enough to know the day's importance, but we didn't say anything. We didn't need to.

Just after Zuko left the Fire Nation (the _second_time, just to clarify) Azula had told us of her plans for the comet and how Zuko didn't have the stomach to go through with it, which showed weakness that made him unfit to be Fire Lord, so it was probably good that he went to join the Avatar. They would all be taken care of in time.

I felt sick of the thought of a world without Zuko. I felt I could, and would, do anything to prevent that horror from becoming reality. Honestly, I didn't care about the Fire Nation's honour or the fate of the world or the climactic battle between good and evil. All I cared about was the dweeb on the gondola. What can I say? I'm selfish, but at least I'm honest.

The thing was, I had already given everything I had to save him. Idiot. Why couldn't he just go hide in a hole where he was safe? Because he was Zuko; all of his stubbornness and impulsivity and passion made him the most wonderful thing I had ever seen. The slightly dorky, ever enthusiastic and always warm sunshine in my life.

And as Ty Lee and I sat in our cell, she held my hands and we cried silently, watching the sky turn black then red, and I prayed to Agni that he wouldn't do anything stupid.


	4. Lost Scene

Prompt: Lost Scene

Mai held Zuko's hand as they sat in the courtyard, their courtyard. They had found it one day while looking for legendary, firebending-activated secret tunnels in the palace.

They sat on a silk sheet they had a servant pick for them, Zuko's back to their tree with one leg stretched in front of him and the other bent so he could rest his elbow on his knee. Mai curled her legs up to Zuko's outstretched leg and leaned into his chest, taking in his warmth.

Mai reached into her sleeve and pulled out her gift. She pressed it into his hand.

"What is it? Oh," Zuko turned the small, cool stone over in his hand. It resembled a heart. "Why?"

"You know, you've done your share of stupid, cheesy things, so I figured I'd give you a break. It's for good luck... in the Agni Kai," Mai finished softly.

"I'll be fine. Hey..." Zuko began grinning and pulled away, so he could look Mai in the eyes. "You're worried about me. You care about me! You _like_ me!"

Mai changed position, so her head was in Zuko's lap.

"Don't rub it in. But, seriously, I'll kill you if you get hurt. Kick his butt."

"Don't worry. I'll win the Agni Kai, then you'll come home with Azula from the Academy and I'll kiss you and Ty Lee will giggle and Azula will say something mean or embarrassing or throw something at us, but we won't care and we can hide out in here everyday for forever. I'll help my father conquer the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes and we'll grow up and I'll be the Fire Lord and you'll be the Fire Lady and we'll rule the world together."

Mai noticed a slight blush cross Zuko's face and wondered at what point he realized he was still talking out loud.

"Well, that doesn't sound too bad. I wouldn't mind living in a world ruled by you."

"That's the plan. Rule the world. You and me."

Mai took his hand and pressed her lips to his palm.

"Any day."


	5. Degrees

**(A/N: I have to say, this one's my favourite so far :D)**

Prompt: Degrees

Sunsets. Bright colours. Kittens. Zuko when he's being obnoxious. There were many things that could turn the Fire Lady's mood sour, but at this moment one of them outweighed any other. The North Pole.

All of it. There was no specific part that she despised most, they _all_ had that honour. The sharp, snow scattered wind was as equally unwelcome as the cold, wet ground and the buildings made of nothing but ice and whale bones were hated just as much as the stupid peace meetings whose formal tone made it socially unacceptable to sit on her (unfairly, always warm) husband.

Mai was still in a horrible mood as the meeting let out and sat to the side as her oh-so mature friends played in the snow. She ignored them as Toph pelted Zuko with chunks of ice, surely leaving bruises she would be asked to kiss better, and blocked out Katara's high-pitched shrieks when her brother decided it would be funny to shove ice down the back of her jacket. She paid no attention when Sokka called out for Zuko to watch him, and she didn't see Zuko try to jump in front of the snowball.

Mai did, however, feel the offending snowball collide with her head.

Mai valued Sokka as a friend, she really did. He was her companion in tearing to shreds the unrealistically optimistic viewpoints of their friends he could think his way out of nearly any problem. But sometimes, he could be really freaking stupid.

She swung around to face them, half of her bangs dripping down her cheeks. Her teeth bared and her face contorted in anger, she was almost speechless. Almost.

"_What _is your problem? In what world were you justified to pelt me with ice? How dare you attack me when I am obviously not enjoying myself because, you know, we didn't all grow up in this _frozen wasteland_! You couldn't just leave me to be miserable by myself could you? No, you had to mess up my hair and get me all wet because, now, I am in a _fantastic _mood!"

Sokka had been grinning at Mai, his cheeks pink from to cold as he tried to bring his friend into the games, but his face fell instantly as Mai approached him. He had never seen her raise her voice before.

Zuko took a step backwards and avoided Sokka's pleading eyes. There was nothing _he_ could do to help him.

"Zuko!" Sokka's voice cracked desperately.

"_Ha!_" Mai shrieked false laughter, furiously gesturing around her. " What's Zuko going to do to help you? He's not involved in this! _He_ didn't throw frozen water at my head!"

Mai bent down and scooped some snow into her hands. She maintained eye contact with Sokka as she slowly packed it together.

"H-hey," Sokka stuttered. "That's cheatin-"

Zuko laughed as Mai's hand made contact with Sokka's face, shoving snow up his nose and and across his cheeks, and forcing him to fall backwards.

"You can't do that!"

"Oh, really? I guess I can't do this either!"

Mai kicked Sokka in the chest, causing him to fall off of his knees and back onto his bottom. She left him there and took Zuko's hand, leading him to the palace.

"Come on. We're going to find a fire. And if we can't," -Mai pointed over her shoulder- "You can use him for kindling."


	6. Seize the day

Prompt: Seize the day

Ty Lee was always left to hang out with Mai while Azula trained, but since they had left Ba Sing Se with the new/old prince in tow, Mai had spent her every waking moment (and, Ty Lee expected, most of her sleeping moments, seeing as how Mai never slept in the room they were supposed to be sharing and Mai would sneak in in the morning wearing a rather mannish sleeping robe) with her new boyfriend. While some more shallow friends might become angry or jealous, Ty Lee saw it as an opportunity to rebuild the tight bond the four of them had shared before Zuko's banishment.

Ty Lee swung open Zuko's bedroom door without knocking. It was larger than her and Mai's room, but smaller than Azula's suite. The metal walls were adorned with unlit torches and hung with black and red banners and insignia. Though the room was too hot for Ty Lee's liking, causing her to tug at her collar, the only light came from the orange embers, probably leftovers from some adorable, late-night, cuddly, fireside couple activities. The four-poster bed had a ton of curtains draped around it, hiding the couple. Zuko's teeny tiny trunk sat in the corner, with lots of peasanty clothes mixed with royaly clothes draped on/in/out of it. Ty Lee wondered if this is what Zuko's ship had been like, but decided not to ask.

"Good morning!" Ty Lee sang as she tugged down the bed's coverings and pulled open the red curtains, revealing a port-hole and letting some nice sunshine into the room. She giggled in response to Zuko's growl and Mai's moaning.

"Come _on_, you two! I know you aren't sleeping!" She grabbed one of each of their bare feet and shook them. Mai quickly withdrew hers and Zuko tried to kick her. "It's almost lunchtime! Don't you want to eat?"

"Have the servants bring us some food," Zuko mumbled angstily, burying his face in Mai's hair.

"Oh, Agni...Aren't you bored, Mai? You've been in here for, like, thirty-six hours."

"Actually, I'm good," Mai turned up to face Zuko, then wrapped her arms around his neck and rolled him over to kiss him.

"You can't just lay in here for the entire trip home! Do something! Seize the day!" Ty Lee threw up her arms and spun around for emphasis.

"No."

They really were cute when they spoke in unison. Ty Lee scrunched her mouth to the side and placed her fists firmly on her curved hips. She let out a huff of annoyance.

"Fine! Just make out in the dark all day!"

Zuko parted himself from Mai, his elbows pushing into the many pillows on the bed under his weight. "Hey!" He called after Ty Lee, who had already cartwheeled halfway to the deck. "How do you expect us to make out in the dark if you pull down all the curtains?" He snarled at the doorway, but was distracted by a cold hand wrapping around the back of his neck.

"Whatever." Mai pulled him down to her.


	7. Opposite

Zuko had thought meditation was difficult on a rocking ship full of soldiers, but now he realized how lucky he had been. He was sitting in the Western Air Temple and the candles he had sitting in front of him were flickering with his irritation.

He really found it astounding that two of what were surely the most important teenagers in the world couldn't find anything better to do than gossip. And, of course, because he was the newest and (in his opinion) second most dramatic person person available to them, he was their topic.

"I think I know why Zuko's so angry all the time."

"Really? Why?"

It sounded like Sokka didn't know that Zuko could hear him, but Zuko was almost positive the little, blind girl knew he was there. He could just picture the smug, amused expression on her face. He took a deep breath and tried to ignore them, but Sokka's voice once again carried down the hallway.

"Seriously, isn't it obvious? Zuko needs a girlfriend! I know I'm always happier when Suki's around. Anyways, he's the Prince of the _Fire Nation_. I bet he's never even _seen _a girl, other than, you know, Azula. She doesn't count."

"How do you know he doesn't just have a lot to be angry about? His life sounds like a pretty good excuse to mope if you ask me. And how does him being a prince mean he hasn't seen a girl? I mean, _I've_ never seen a girl, but I think his situation is a little different."

"Think of it this way: you were a noble and how many boyfriends did you have? Now imagine that, plus a bunch of war junk shoved down your throat. His body is obviously putting him in a constant bad mood as punishment for its...romantic deprivation! His hormones must be freaking out!"

"Please, Sokka, elaborate," Toph prompted him on, letting Zuko hear the giggle in her voice. The candles rose and fell stiffly with Zuko's controlled breath.

"Well, he's never seen a girl right? So, it won't be too hard to satisfy his manly man needs. Imagine how happy he'll be when he finds a girl! It would make everything so much easier with a happy Zuko! We just need to get a girl to kiss him. _Any _girl."

"Hold up, I'm not kissing Princess, if that's where you're going with this! He's not my type."

"Ew! Not you, you're only twelve! That would be so creepy! Opposites attract, right? And fire's opposite is water, so all we need to do to relieve Zuko's stress is get Katara to kiss him!"

"Sparky and Sugar Queen? I'm not sure Twinkletoes would be on board."

"Why not? I'm sure Aang would have a much better time learning firebending if Zuko-"

"If Zuko what?"

Zuko was leaning on the wall behind them, his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.

"Oh, nothing-"

"Aw, c'mon, Sokka. Tell him! Prove your genius!"

Sokka stuttered for a moment, but Zuko's fuse seemed to have blown and he was in Sokka's face before he could answer.

"Are you seriously saying that all of my problems will disappear if I make out with your sister? Great plan! My uncle will just forget everything I've done to him and be just bursting with happiness! And my dad! Oh, he'll be so overjoyed with the news that he'll just forget about taking over the world and everything! I swear, if it was that easy don't you think I'd have done something about it! And what makes you think I've never seen a girl? Aang was raised by monks and you're not trying to push Toph on top of him! I don't want to kiss your sister anyway! In case you haven't noticed, she _hates _me! Plus," Zuko felt the familiar weight of the heart shaped stone in his pocket, "I _have_ a girlfriend!"

_Had _a girlfriend, Zuko corrected himself. Zuko turned and stomped into his room. Sokka turned to Toph, laughing.

"Aw, man, I wish you could see! Apparently, firebenders _smoke_ when they're angry!"


	8. Passions run

Passion was something that came easily to Zuko. Mai supposed that came with his bending; it seemed to be in sync with his temper at least. But maybe Mai was thinking of the same thing: passion, bending, temper. Call it whatever you like, in Mai's opinion of Zuko, they were interchangeable. Whatever it was, it ran through Zuko's veins. Seriously, he bled passion, he _oozed _passion. It came as no surprise to Mai that he was able to find pleasure in their amateur kissing.

Somehow, Mai found herself wedged between the cushions of a sofa and the crown prince of the Fire Nation, who at this point was kind of annoying her. It wasn't that she didn't really, really like him. She was glad that he was finally home after three dreadfully long, Zuko lacking years, but this was definitely not what she had daydreamed about during his banishment.

Mai froze, her hands falling from Zuko's hair and resting on his shoulders and her eyes popping open. Zuko took a second to notice, then paused. He pressed his lips firmly to Mai's and she remained unresponsive. He pulled back to look at her, his floppy hair falling around his face. Mai wondered if it tickled his cheeks.

"What's wrong?"

Mai sighed. "I'm bored."

Zuko threw himself off of Mai and the sofa doing that half-ugh-half-growl thing he was so fond of. He immediately began pacing. Mai wasted no time in using one of her wide sleeves to remove the remaining Zuko spit from her face.

"_How_ are you bored?"

"Gee, Zuko. I don't know. I'm sorry I don't enjoy having you slobber all over me and try to eat my face."

He spun around to face her, his arms flying over his head. "I am not trying to eat your face!"

Mai rolled her eyes. "Could've fooled me. What _are_ you trying to do?"

"I don't even know anymore! You're crazy, you know that?" He pointed accusingly at Mai, his finger inches from her narrowed eyes. "You didn't have any complaints yesterday!"

"Well, apparently yesterday your ego hadn't kicked in yet and you weren't improvising."

Zuko's face deepened in colour and he spun around and began pacing again, his fists sparking. He huffed and puffed until he stood facing the wall farthest away from Mai, he dropped to the ground, crossing his legs and arms.

Mai pressed her cool fingers to her eyelids then temples, trying to soothe away a headache. Ty Lee was good at this kind of thing. She could practically hear her cheery voice in her ears. _Boys are _so _sensitive! You can't hurt their pride at all or they'll dwell on it_ forever._ So you're not supposed to focus on their negatives when it comes to this kind of thing. You're supposed to be like, 'Oh, I love it when you such-and-such!' not 'Hey, cut it out!'_

Well, so much for not hurting Zuko's pride. But honestly, what was Mai supposed to say in this situation? You know, Zuko, I find it exceptionally attractive when you don't drool on my face? Right. Sure.

Mai placed a cool hand on his shoulder, which was violently shaken off.

"Oh, get up. You're acting like a child."

Zuko snarled to the wall.

"You're horrible at the silent treatment. You know that, right?"

"I'm just horrible at _everything_, aren't I?"

"I'm sure you just need practice."

Zuko looked over his shoulder, blushing at Mai's implications and also at his behaviour, to see his girlfriend holding out a hand to help him stand up.

"What do you think you're doing? Are you stupid?"

Mai smirked at Zuko, pressing a finger to his lips to silence him as she dragged him through the hanging silks deeper into the dark.

"No. In fact, I'm quite clever. I managed to think of a way to actually get an adrenaline rush while kissing you."

Zuko's scowl was quickly covered by Mai's still laughing mouth as he was shoved into a wall. He became distracted for moment (it was understandable) but eventually the dread he felt commanded his attention, and he remembered where they were. He forced himself to tilt his head up as far as he could, which just led Mai to focus on his neck.

"Please, Mai, stop," he whispered desperately, turning his head towards the sounds of motion outside the closet door, his stomach knotting as he realized just how close they might be to dying. "Seriously, if we're caught, do you know what she'll do to us?"

"I can guess," Mai's breath was warm on Zuko's ear. She giggled. Seriously. Mai _giggled_. Zuko didn't understand how she managed to not be shaking in panic, as he was. He couldn't comprehend how Mai could be doing whatever she was doing to make him need to bite his lip to keep quiet so that they wouldn't be burnt to a crisp by the extremely powerful Firebender on the other side of the curtain. He didn't get how Mai could be sending waves of heat through him while he was pushed against various articles of Azula's clothing.

Mai pulled back and for a second all Zuko could hear was their breathing and the muffled sounds of Azula singing to herself as she did who cares what, oblivious to the trespassers doing things they weren't supposed to be doing in her territory, against her wishes.

Something clicked in Zuko's brain as he saw the spark of defiance in Mai's eye and suddenly, he got it.

Mai's giggle was muffled as Zuko pulled her face to his with both hands and they leaned on the wall of Azula's bedroom closet.


	9. Connection

Mai blindly felt around the inside of her drawer until her fingers wrapped around the smooth, wax candle. She placed it on the bed next to her and quietly closed the drawer. She pulled back the silk sheets and wiped away the loose hairs and sweat on the back of her neck.

She enjoyed the feeling of the cool stone floor on her bare feet as she snuck out of the bedroom and lit the candle on the lantern hanging in the hallway between her bedroom and the staircase to the master bedroom.

Once back to her bed, she set the candle on her bedside table and laid on her side, watching the flickering orange light. Her mother's voice rang in her head, an echo of an old bedtime story.

Long ago, Agni, the sun spirit, took the form of a dragon to visit the physical world. When Agni arrived in the physical world, he had been captured by an evil ruler who wanted Agni's power for himself. He asked his people to join him in releasing Agni from the trap so they could kill him. He told them they could be in control of the spirits and anyone who helped him would gain a position of power in the new world order.

When no one stood to join him, he tried to face Agni alone. Agni destroyed the evil man with a single breath of fire and as a gift to his loyal people, he presented them with the fire and taught them to bend it.

It was told that all fire was descended from that one original flame from Agni and, like the same waves crashing on the shores of the Capitol to the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes, all fire was connected.

Usually, Mai would dismiss this as a fable. She understood that the point was to teach her not to question the spirits, or any authority for that matter.

But at night, when she could be alone with her delusions, she couldn't help but hope that maybe as she ran her fingertips through the candle without burning herself, she was touching something that Zuko's hands had once held.

The metal door creaked as Zuko shoved it open. his stomping was momentarily drown out by the the door slamming shut. He didn't care; let the crew wake up. If any of them had a problem with him, he could handle it.

It was summer, he knew, but still the arctic air nipped at his scarred ear and he could see his breath like steam in front of him. Walking to the bow of his ship, he wiped harshly at his tears.

He felt weak. It had been almost two months since he had dreamt of the Agni Kai; two months of restless, but comparatively peaceful, sleep where he hadn't woken up screaming and sobbing like a child. The railing was so cold it hurt his hands, but he tightened his grip around it until his knuckles were strained and white.

His struggle seemed hopeless. His _existence_ seemed hopeless. He was nothing but an embarrassment to his father and a burden to is uncle and crew. The Avatar was long gone, with his honour, his throne, his empire.

He glared down at the freezing water, hearing his father calling him worthless and his sister's sickly sweet voice and an ancient, elusive Airbender mocking him.

He wanted to give into them, prove them right, just abandon the heat his bending gave him and throw himself overboard, refusing to breathe until he was in the Spirit World with his mother and cousin and the ghost he was chasing. He wondered if he would freeze to death or drown first.

He leaned forward and the metal railing pushed into his stomach, holding him back and reminding him that not only had he not put on a robe as he left his cabin, but that he hadn't even bothered undressing before falling asleep. The wind shook him and fluttered his clothes, the small stone in his shirt pocket tapping against his chest.

He remembered a reason not to give up. There was only a slight chance that she wouldn't find him horribly disfigured if he returned home, but she was always a lovely, if imagined, side-effect of regaining his honour.

"Not tonight," he whispered, not sure if he was addressing himself or the water or the horrible echoes in his head, and turned his back to the railing, ready to attempt to sleep again.


	10. Lull and storm

"Look, Zuko, I get that you've been Fire Lord for all of _two hours_, but you can't just-"

"Can't just what?" he interrupted me, screaming and getting spit on my face. "I can't bring my girlfriend to meet my friends? You're crazy, Katara!"

"I'm crazy? I'm not the one who's inviting _her _here!" I pointed to the silent girl standing behind Zuko with her arms in her sleeves. Every time I looked at her, I heard her voice in my head. _How are you going to fight without your bending? _For all we knew she could have been reaching for a knife, ready to assassinate Aang, and he just wanted her to come and have tea with us? I was beginning to doubt that _anyone _in the Fire Nation Royal family possessed a hint of sanity.

"Well, that's obvious," Sokka stretched his arm around Suki and rested his injured leg on the table. "You know, Katara, you've got some serious trust issues."

"I do not!" I shrieked, much higher than I would have liked. How could my idiot brother be so casual about this? "Just because she saved you at the Boiling Rock doesn't mean anything! She wasn't saving you or Dad or Suki; she was saving Zuko!"

Sokka raised his eyebrows. "And that is a bad thing because...?"

"You're completely missing the point! Just because she didn't want him to die doesn't mean we should trust her. Are you forgetting about the months she spent attacking us?"

"I could say the same of Zuko."

"But Zuko switched sides when we were losing!" My voice cracked as I spoke. I figured I would be able to take Zuko in a screaming match, but that boy must have some _practice_.

"Katara, calm down." Aang was using his serious Avatar-Aang-Is-A-Wise-Monk voice. I narrowed my eyes ant his wide, accepting grey ones and shook his hand off my arm.

"No! I won't calm down! She worked for Azula for her whole life. How can we know that she won't betray us?"

"Because I _know_ her!"

"Zuko. Stop." Her voice was quiet, but firm. He spun around to face her, flailing his arms wildly.

"Mai! What are you talking about! You have every right to be-"

"I said stop," She grabbed his face and held him still, making him look in her eyes. He seemed to cool down at her touch. "I won't come between you and your friends." -she looked at me- "I understand. I'll go."

She gave Zuko one more soft glance and seemed angry with herself as a tear escaped her eyes. Ignoring the tear on her cheek, as if we couldn't see it if she pretended it wasn't there, she bowed to us and left. I admit, I felt a little bad -I had never seen this girl show any emotion other than boredom or discontent, but mostly I was satisfied. She got the point. Everyone stared at me accusingly. Well, except for Zuko who had his own less subtle way of showing his disapproval of my actions.

"Look what you've done! She was prepared to die to save us! If Ty Lee hadn't helped her, Azula would have _killed_ her! She _obviously _sacrificed herself for a cause she didn't believe in! Mai has always been there for me, even when I was too much of a jerk to notice. You won't even give her a chance? Do you know how hard it was for her to put herself out there and try to reach out to you all? You act like you're all perfect and motherly and nice to everyone, Katara, but you're _not_! Mai is one of the best people I've ever met and you _hurt _her because of your stupid prejudices!"

I pushed Zuko out of my way and slammed the door, needing to be anywhere I couldn't see his stupid face. I froze and felt something swoop in my stomach when I heard her voice behind me in the hallway.

"Don't take him seriously. He doesn't mean anything he says when he gets like this."

I spun around to see her standing with her arms in her sleeves, giving no sign that there had ever been a tear on her face.

"Well," she paused, considering her explanation. "He means the general idea, but he exaggerates. He's like a child. In this case, Zuko wants me around so he can try to suck my face off while driving all of you crazy, but that doesn't by any means make me as perfect as he seems to think I am. He _is_ angry with you for taking away his cuddles, but that doesn't make you a horrible person."

I was stunned silent. I could feel accusations and apologies bubbling in my stomach, but nothing seemed to reach my tongue.

"And one more thing. I heard about what you did after Azula-" She sighed and looked to the side. "Just...thanks for saving the idiot. Really. Thank you."

She turned around and walked away, leaving me staring like an idiot.

"Mai, wait!" Her name felt funny coming out of my mouth, funny, but not bad. I tried to smile. "Would you like to join us?"

**AN: First of all, thank you for reading this! I'm wondering what you look for in a summary for a set of drabbles like this. Should I write a summary of the newest drabble or just a general message saying this is just a heap of Maiko or do you have any ideas? Thanks! :D**


	11. Animal

"Lighten up, Mai. It's just a prank."

"What are you going to do?"

"I _told _you. It's a surprise," the ten year old princess led her friends through the palace. She wasn't at all surprised at what a stick in the mud Mai was being; she never liked playing jokes on Zuzu.

Ty Lee carried the cage, whistling to the small, red songbird inside of it. Mai had seen the bird before, when Azula and Ty Lee had dared her to go into Zuko's bedroom and steal all his pants (she hadn't been too pleased then either, but was glad she didn't have to do anything mean to his face.) She didn't know the bird's name, but she was sure it had been a present from his mother when Zuko was young. Honestly, she was surprised he had been allowed to keep it after she left. The girls turned at the sound of a deep laugh coming around the corner.

"Uncle! It's not funny!"

"Quick! Hide!" Azula hissed as she grabbed their wrists and pulled them behind a tapestry as Zuko and Iroh rounded the corner.

"You must forgive me, Prince Zuko. When you get to be my age, you find that the things that once held the weight of the world are quite funny."

"Fine! If you're not going to take me seriously, then-!"

"No, please. I'm sorry, nephew. Now, how do you plan to tell Mai of your feelings for her?"

"What are you-? I- I never said it was Mai!"

Zuko's voice echoed in the hallways and hid Azula and Ty Lee's snickers. Mai ducked her head and avoided the other girls' eyes as her face grew warm.

"Nephew, please, calm down. How do you plan to tell _this girl_ how you feel?"

"Stop! Stop! Never mind! I don't care. It doesn't matter any way. Even if she _did _like me, Azula would just kill everything."

At the sound of her name, Azula's smile fell and Mai watched her change from Might-Do-Something-Annoying-To-Zuko Azula to Seriously-Going-To-Hurt-The-Idiot-If-He-Doesn't-Keep-His-Mouth-Shut Azula.

"Maybe you should try to be kinder to your sister, Prince Zuko. An act of love goes much farther than one of anger."

"I _do _try to be nice -like this morning, at breakfast, there were two pastries and one was all messed up and whatever and the other looked perfect and I remembered that you said to be nice, so I let Azula have the good one -and it wasn't like she grabbed it first, because the tray was right next to me and I picked it up and said 'here' and smiled and everything- and she still called me a dumb-dumb and pulled my topknot as she left the room!" -Mai watched Azula's brow furrow and wondered if she had actually noticed Zuko being nice to her.- "It's like she just hates me. Or she's evil or something."

Azula's eyes narrowed as Zuko snickered, apparently having something funny come into his head. _In the name of Agni, Zuko, SHUT UP._

"And I think she might have a crush on Captain Zhao!"

Ty Lee and Zuko both giggled and Mai tried to ignore the blush running across Azula's face and the feeling of dread in her stomach.

"Shut up!" she snapped at Ty Lee in a whisper. "Give me the bird. I'll show him evil."

"Azula, what are you going to do?"

"Be quiet, Mai. Ty Lee. Give. Me. The bird."

Ty Lee looked between the princess of her country, who had just given her a direct order, and the delicate pet bird of the prince that had never done anything to offend Azula. She hesitated.

"Fine!" Azula brought her hand back and prepared to strike the bird.

"Azula, don't hurt it!" Mai cried out without thinking, a crime that would be punished severely in front of her mother and possibly more so in front of the princess, and sprang, knocking the cage out of Ty Lee's grip and exposing the girls' position as the metal cage flew out from behind the tapestry.

Zuko watched as his sister fell onto the floor, landing on her hands and knees, shortly followed by Ty Lee, who fell gracefully into a somersault, and Mai, who landed on Ty Lee. The frightened bird flitted around its cage, which had landed on its side, and Mai could see its chest rising and falling rapidly, which looked very odd; she had never seen a bird panting before.

Everything seemed frozen. Ty Lee sought out Mai's eyes, but found she was too focused on Zuko, whose face, as usual, held a look of extreme confusion and slight embarrassment.

The silence was shattered as Azula shot a stream of fire at the birdcage. As if out of instinct, Mai threw the dagger inside her sleeve. The dagger hit the very bottom of the cage, causing it to spin across the floor. The little, red bird flew out of the door, which had become unhinged, and circled the group once before flying out of a window.

The ground where the birdcage had been was marked black and burnt, as was the dagger stuck in the ground.

**AN: My friend has two pet birds and they're weird looking when they pant. My brain was all *DOES NOT COMPUTE***

**I'll love you forever if you review. :D**


	12. Children

Born in the very end of spring, Mai was the oldest. Only by three weeks, in Zuko's case, but still the oldest. It didn't matter; Azula was always in charge anyway. Mai stood without question in her thirteenth birthday in her bedroom with her mother.

She watched quietly as her mother ordered servants around, switching out her wardrobe. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of resentment as her almost comfortable play clothes were taken away to be replaced with disgustingly feminine outfits that would make climbing trees difficult and give her a hassle hiding her knives from her already suspicious mother. Eyeing her new wardrobe, Mai wondered if she or her mother wanted her to gain the prince's affections more.

Her mother flitted between Mai's bedroom and the hallway, arms waving, voice bossy, and paying little attention to her daughter. Mai decided this would be as good a time as any.

Her mother shrieked as a dagger flew past her and pinned a servant's sleeve to the wall. Seeing the horrified look on the servant's face, Mai almost felt sorry. It wasn't _his_ fault he'd chosen to work there.

"Mai!" her mother ripped the dagger out of the wall and held it in front of her daughter's face, her lips a thin, painted line as they pursed together.

"Yes?" Mai tried to blink innocently. "It wasn't _me_."

"You're _lying_." Mai resisted the urge to sarcastically snark at her mother, who was running her fingers over the hole in the red paint and brushing away the dust from the displaced plaster. "Where did you get this?"

"The princess."

She could see her mother's internal battle between her want to outlaw anything fun and her want to please Azula. Eventually, (as always) Azula won.

"Why has the princess given you a weapon?"

Mai considered claiming she had almost been brutally raped and murdered while walking home from the palace.

"Azula says my worth as an ally decreases if I'm not trained in combat. Ty Lee's learning chi blocking." Mai was lying to her mother. _How ironic._

One of Azula's favourite games was sneaking around, so it was not uncommon for her to dress the three of them (and Zuko if she was in a particularly good mood or a particularly bad mood) into peasant's garb and go off into the Capital City. That was really how Mai had acquired the dagger in her mother's hand (and its twin inside her sleeve and the flat blade strapped to her calf.) Azula hadn't threatened to eliminate Mai as an ally when Mai informed her of her parents' disapproval, but she _had _snorted with laughter and told Mai she could use the force of her royal thumb to "guide" her parents in the right direction.

As Mai expected, her parents caved. With a snap of her fingers, Mai's mother had the finest knives specialist in the Capital in their sitting room, and three hours later, Mai left home satisfied with the new weight on her body.

Zuko was pacing in his bedroom when Azula opened the door without knocking. Her laughter at seeing the state of his bedroom earned her a glare before he turned his back on her to pace in the other direction.

"Get out."

"Oh, Zuzu, calm down; I'm here to help you."

"Help me with what?"

She merely looked around his room and raised an eyebrow to answer him. His floor was covered in different articles of clothing, even his formal armor unceremoniously thrown across the room. There were four outfits he had apparently deemed acceptable lying on his bed. His hair fell around his face, tied horribly with a red ribbon, and the loose pieces he'd missed hung down the back of his neck. He was only wearing his pajama pants.

"So," Azula found it hard to contain the laughter in her voice. She sat on his bed and crossed her legs, putting her weight on her hands planted behind her. "You're nervous?"

The force of his spin shook out the rest of his hair as he shouted, "No!"

"You are the _worst _liar ever." He crossed his pale, skinny arms across his pale, skinny chest as his face turned red and he tried to stare down Azula silently. "What are you doing?"

"I'm waiting for you to _stop acting like such a freaking jerk_ and actually help me like you said you would!"

"Don't hold your breath," she smirked at him, but stood up nonetheless and pointed to the outfits on the bed. "Which one?"

He walked over, forgetting his anger and looking distressed. "Well, I like that one, but I feel like it would be too casual and that one looks nice, but I don't want to look _too_ nice and make her think I'm trying too hard and I don't know if I should go for the darker colors like Mai likes or the brighter ones 'cause it's a party and I just-" He looked up at his sister and stopped talking, blushing again. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You two are so cute. It's adorable. I'm sure Mai would puke if she realized it."

He threw a silk tunic at her, which she caught with ease. "Shut up."

Azula tossed a pair of grey pants at him (he leaned backwards in shock, his lips forming an O, and picked them up off the floor) and began sorting through the mass of clothes. "Go put those on, I'll find a top."

Zuko obeyed Azula willingly, glad the pressure was off of him, and emerged from his closet to find Azula ready with a red shirt with gold trim on the elbow length sleeves and a long, black, tapering vest with, again, gold details. Somehow, with Azula's assurance that it wasn't horrible, it looked nicer than anything Zuko thought he could have created.

Just as Zuko was satisfied with the position of the red shirt, a servant entered the room and announced Mai and Ty Lee's arrival.

"Oh, no. I'm not ready! We're gonna be late!"

"So what?" With his frantic expression, he looked like a little, vulnerable owlet-kitten. She sighed, helping him into the black vest and tying a gold belt around his waist while he fixed his topknot in the mirror.

"_Leaf _me alone, I'm _bushed_!"

Ty Lee burst out laughing at General Iroh's punchline, leaning over and gripping Mai's arm tightly for support. Mai rolled her eyes at the girl affectionately and gave General Iroh a small smile.

"Oh, please, Mai! You can do better than that, it's your birthday! There you go!" He grinned, now satisfied that Mai's display of enthusiasm was adequate. Azula pushed through the door seconds before Zuko.

"Sorry for the delay, Uncle. Zuzu had a bit of trouble dressing himself."

"I did not!"

Everyone ignoring Zuko's outburst, Azula continued. "Happy birthday, Mai."

The private birthday party had been General Iroh's idea, when she had mentioned that her parents didn't want to do anything special. He had insisted that they hold a small dinner, simply Mai and her closest friends. Mai felt ridiculous when she realized how warm and fluttery the phrase had made her feel. She began to protest when General Iroh pulled out a gift for her.

"No, General Iroh. You've done too much already."

"Please, Mai. I insist," he said, pressing the box into her hands with his warm ones. "I made this particular brew of teas with specifically you in mind. And enough of this 'general' business, call me _Uncle_."

"Yeah, Mai. You might as well start now; we all know you'll be in the royal family soon enough."

Trying his hardest to ignore Azula's (and Ty Lee's and Iroh's) laughing, Zuko pushed a bundle of cloth into Mai's hand.

"Here -happy birthday." He looked at the ground, his hands, the stupid smirks of his family and Ty Lee, any where but at Mai. When he finally looked at Mai's face, she was holding the pendant he had carefully carved her name into with her delicate fingers. "Do you like it?" He couldn't help it, the words came out and he felt he would explode if he didn't know how she felt about it. "I -I made it. It says your name, see?" He fumbled with the necklace in Mai's hands to make sure the front was facing up, which it was.

"It's great, Zuko. Thank you."

Mai was smiling. _Mai was smiling_. Zuko felt like his stomach was singing or dancing or flying or something. He could feel his cheeks hurting from smiling, but he didn't care.

"Me next!" Ty Lee threw the box with a frilly ribbon on it at Mai.

"It isn't pink, is it?"

"Of course not! I know you, Mai!"

Expecting to find some gaudy jewelery or a small, furry animal inside, Mai was quite surprised to see the pearl dagger inside. She smiled at Ty Lee in thanks.

Mai found the perfectly manicured fingers of the Fire Nation princess wrapping around her wrists and pulling her from the sofa. Azula spun them around, so that Azula was sitting in Mai's seat and Mai landed awkwardly on Zuko's lap with her legs extended to where Azula had been sitting.

"Happy birthday. I'm sorry that it's not very smart; I got it on sale."

Zuko sputtered angrily at Azula but stopped when a cold hand gripped both sides of his jaw and turned his head, as if to inspect his face from different angles.

"I suppose I'll live, but what _is_ the return policy?"

"Hey! I'd be an awesome present! I'm the _Crown Prince of the Fire Nation_!" His serious and red face combined with the words coming out of his mouth told Mai that he had completely forgotten about the girl sitting in his lap and his defensive ego had kicked in. She rolled her eyes.

"I'll keep that in mind. Is there any particular reason your vest is inside out?"


	13. We all float on

Prompt: We all float on

It was our last night in Ba Sing Se, a few weeks after the fall of the Avatar. Azula was finalizing the city's new government, which meant she was harassing her pet Earthbenders and making absolutely sure that they wouldn't experience a sudden swell of patriotism. They wouldn't, we all knew, but Azula is thorough if anything. The rest of us had long since gone to sleep.

"You know," I said as my bedroom door was eased open, flooding my room with pale, green light, "it really isn't appropriate for you to be sneaking into my bedroom."

"I'm not sneaking in," Zuko muttered, blushing. "I couldn't sleep."

"Relax." I stood up and followed him into the hallway. "I'm just teasing."

It was a regular thing by now, the two of us aimlessly wandering around the palace, hand in hand.

Zuko had been more withdrawn over the past few days, since Azula had begun to question him of his intentions about returning home. She usually pressured him to come with us, which seemed the obvious answer to me.

Whether she admitted it or not, I knew she'd missed him –we all had, quietly and behind closed doors. But if she wanted him around to brighten her by comparison or because she cared about him on some level, I'll never know.

I had known Azula since Zuko and I were seven and had been with her as the palace slowly cleared out. Ty Lee and I had been the only ones left, the Fire lord too busy to give her much attention. I could relate; I almost felt guilty being dragged out to Omashu –oh, I'm sorry, _New Ozai_- after Ty Lee had run away. But Azula was a big girl and tonight wasn't about her.

"Where are we going?" I asked him, settling into his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around my waist.

"Nowhere," he scoffed. "We never go anywhere."

"What about when we go to the library? I think I left one of my gloves there last time…."

He blushed again. "Okay, sometimes we go to the library. Thinking is just easier when I'm walking. And with you."

"Don't hurt yourself, now."

He didn't notice as I subtly turned us away from the prison chambers, where we seemed to be heading. I didn't want him getting himself into any trouble.

My voice broke the silence bluntly.

"We're leaving at sunrise and I think the only thing I wouldn't want to leave in this dump is my boyfriend. Are you coming home with us?"

I tried not to let his hesitation get to me.

"I –I don't know, Mai," he whispered into my hair. "I don't know if I can."

"Of _course_ you can."

"I haven't seen my father since… since I left. What if everything's changed –what if nothing's changed? I might not even be the restored prince; I could still be the failure. I don't have the Avatar. What if it's just easier to stay in the Earth Kingdom than to go back and just get kicked out anyway?"

"Zuko," I turned his face with one hand forcing him to look at me. Agni, did he always look like a kicked pygmy panther? "The Avatar is dead. If you come home… trust me, you aren't going anywhere."

I closed my eyes and rested my forehead to his. I gripped his hand firmly; after so many years, I felt the need to hold onto him like a child holds a balloon in a monsoon. I reached to meet his lips-

The Dai Li agent guarding Azula's suite, across the hall from Zuko's door, pretended to cough. Zuko whipped around.

"Got a problem, peasant?"

"No, _sir_," he drawled. "Feel free to do whatever you choose with your _wife_ in the middle of the hallway."

"Get flamed," I scoffed at him before Zuko slammed the door after us.


End file.
